Monday, 26 November 2018

Disney on Ice presents Dream Big - review

Back in April this year, Bert and I reviewed the Disney on Ice Worlds of Enchantment tour (read our full review here) and we were SO excited to be asked back to review their latest show.

Excited besties all ready for a Disney On Ice adventure!

We jumped on the train from Bedford > Nottingham, which takes just over an hour: the kids love a good train journey, and of course, us mums had packed loads to keep them entertained, fed and watered for the journey.

Train activities!

On arrival in Nottingham we took the short walk into town, and made at pit stop at the Golden Arches (about 10 min walk from the train station) to refuel before the 2.30pm showing. It takes about 15 mins to walk to the Motorpoint Arena from the town centre, and the doors open an hour before the show starts to allow plenty of time to get through bag checks, pick up some refreshments and merchandise, and get comfortable in your seats.

Having been to a Disney on Ice show before, Bert and I knew what to expect, and naturally our expectations were high after loving the show in April so much. Our friends had never been before, so it was super exciting to see their reaction for the first time, and actually both us mums found it really emotional, watching the kids enjoy and share the experience together.

The icy stage!

Our seats were amazingly close, and gave us an absolutely brilliant view of the ice. The twenty minutes or so we spent in our seats before the show started were excruciatingly exciting for the kids, who asked every 2 minutes how long until the show started.

Disney on Ice presents Dream Big, is a celebration of 90 years of Walt Disney's 'true original' Mickey Mouse, and follows the key Disney princesses on their individual quests to follow their dreams.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse

The show is opened by Mickey and Minnie Mouse in their true original forms, and they act as compares throughout the show, linking and introducing each scene to the stage.

Aladdin and Princess Jasmine

The main show starts with scenes from Aladdin - we're treated to versions of 'One Jump' in the Agrabah marketplace where we meet Aladdin and his pet monkey, Abu, shortly followed by meeting the famous Genie for a rendition of 'Never Had a Friend Like Me', the Aladdin portion of the show closes with a beautiful version of 'A Whole New World' where we watch Aladdin and Princess Jasmine fall in love, swoon.

The Genie granting Aladdin his first wish!

Next up, was my all time favourite 'Beauty and the Beast' where we meet Belle, Lumiére and the dinnerware who present the epic 'Be Our Guest' - this was a real showstopper!

Belle, Lumiére and the dinnerware!

Be Our Guest

Then we join the fearless Moana and the greatest demigod that ever lived, Maui, on an action-packed voyage to restore the stolen heart of Te Fiti. Moana is a favourite with our kids, so they were so thrilled to see them so close up and re-experience their favourite songs from the show. It goes without saying that the ice dancers are so unbelievably talented, the grown ups watched on in total awe!

Maui and Moana

Maui and Moana

Beautiful Moana: we had such a great view of a corner platform where so many of the cast would stand and wave to us during the show!

Following on from the Moana showcase you get tangled up in Rapunzel’s hair-raising quest to see the floating lights, the scene includes the beautiful duet between Rapunzel and Flynn Rider called 'I See the Light' from the film 'Tangled'. Truly awe-inspiring and hair raising/tingle inducing stuff.

Rapunzel and Flynn from Tangled

The first half of the show closes with an excellent segment featuring the characters from 'The Little Mermaid' including Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian, Ursula, Prince Eric and more. This is a real showcase of the film with lots of the main 'numbers' included, as well as beautiful array of colourful and bright costumes which fill the ice: the stage is so full and exciting that you genuinely don't know where to look!

Ariel and Prince Eric

There's a short interval to refuel, nip the loo etc before we are transported back to magical Disney lands.

Checking out the merch!

We set the kids limit of one piece of merchandise each as a memento of their day, and they both chose large Disney Princess figures, priced at £12 each. Bert chose Rapunzel and his friend chose Ariel. They clutched them throughout the show, and it was really lovely to watch them reenact the show on the train home with their new toys.

Will you just look at their excitement?

The second half of the show sees us travel to mountainous Arendelle with Anna, Elsa and Olaf in a dramatic retelling of the sisterly love that saved a kingdom. This section is a really special part of the show - the light work, set, and special effects including fire, pyrotechnics, bubbles and snow are really breathtaking and only make the experience even more magical for the audience!

Elsa (Frozen)

Anna, Christoff and Olaf!

The close of the show uncovers the strength, bravery and kindness that inspired generation after generation with a celebration of Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora, Belle and Cinderella. What a line up!!

The Dragon, Prince Philip and the fire!!

Cinderella in her coach

What always strikes me most at Disney on Ice shows (aside from the incredible talent of the ice dancers) is the detail of the costumes and set pieces. All of the characters are instantly recognisable, and the costumes are all absolutely exquisite, but still suitable for ice dancing - which is no mean feat. In this show they seemed to have gone all out with set including Cinderella's amazing coach and an actual fire breathing dragon from Sleeping Beauty! Seeing the kids' faces when these appeared on stage was truly priceless.

The Finale!

We had the best time, and my friend and I felt quite emotional about the whole thing, vowing we should make time more often to fit in these lovely treat days with just our elder two children (who also happen to be best friends and in the same class at school, handy that!). We were not disappointed by the show at all, and we sang and danced our way back to Nottingham train station on a real high.

The Disney on Ice shows are truly a wonder to behold - they appeal to such a vast age range (there were newborns and young toddlers, as well as school aged children in the audience) and honestly, all of the adults were having an amazing time too - it really is a treat for the whole family!

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